Vehicular vision system with dual processor control

ABSTRACT

A vehicular vision system includes a plurality of cameras including a forward viewing camera and multiple color cameras, and includes a display device operable to display video images derived from image data captured by the color cameras. A processing unit includes a first processing chip that has an image processor for machine-vision processing of captured image data, and a second processing chip that receives vehicle data and receives image data captured by the color cameras. The first processing chip machine-vision processes image data captured by the cameras for object detection and classification of objects. The first processing chip controls operating parameters of the color cameras to enhance object detection based on machine-vision processing by the first processing chip of image data captured by the color cameras. The second processing chip controls operating parameters of the color cameras for display at the display device of video images.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/613,376, filed Jun. 5, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,218,940,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/255,122,filed Apr. 17, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,674,490, which claims thefiling benefits of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/813,361,filed Apr. 18, 2013, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a vehicle vision system for avehicle and, more particularly, to a vehicle vision system that utilizesone or more cameras at a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Use of imaging sensors in vehicle imaging systems is common and known.Examples of such known systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,949,331; 5,670,935 and/or 5,550,677, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a vision system or imaging system for avehicle that utilizes one or more cameras (preferably one or more CMOScameras) to capture image data representative of images exterior of thevehicle, and provides the communication/data signals, including cameradata or captured image data, that may be displayed at a display screenthat is viewable by the driver of the vehicle, such as when the driveris backing up the vehicle, and that may be processed and, responsive tosuch image processing, the system may detect an object at or near thevehicle and in the path of travel of the vehicle, such as when thevehicle is backing up. The vision system may be operable to display asurround view or bird's eye view of the environment at or around or atleast partially surrounding the subject or equipped vehicle, and thedisplayed image may include a displayed image representation of thesubject vehicle. The present invention provides a cost effectivecombined surround view with an EYEQ3 architecture. The system mayinclude a time multiplexed camera control.

The vision system of the present invention may provide a dynamicallyadjustable camera orientation. With such dynamically adjustable cameraorientation (such as via one or more stepper motors at one or more ofthe exterior viewing cameras), the system may capture image datarepresentative of the ground area immediately adjacent the portion ofthe vehicle at which the camera or cameras is/are disposed for use in asurround view display of the vehicle (such as during reverse travel ofthe vehicle or when the vehicle is traveling at a slow speed), and thesystem may capture image data representative of regions further awayfrom the vehicle for use in, for example, a collision avoidance systemor the like), such as when the vehicle is traveling at or above athreshold speed level. The system may adjust or control the fields ofview of the cameras responsive to at least one of (i) actuation of auser input by a driver of the vehicle and (ii) a speed input indicativeof the traveling speed of the vehicle.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle with a vision system thatincorporates cameras in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a vision system using an image processor andtwo microcontrollers;

FIG. 3 is a schematic of a cost effective combined surround view withimage processing architecture in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic of a time multiplexed camera control in accordancewith the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic of a dynamically adjustable camera orientation inaccordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A vehicle vision system and/or driver assist system and/or objectdetection system and/or alert system operates to capture images exteriorof the vehicle and may process the captured image data to display imagesand to detect objects at or near the vehicle and in the predicted pathof the vehicle, such as to assist a driver of the vehicle in maneuveringthe vehicle in a rearward direction. The vision system includes an imageprocessor or image processing system that is operable to receive imagedata from one or more cameras and provide an output to a display devicefor displaying images representative of the captured image data.Optionally, the vision system may provide a top down or bird's eye orsurround view display and may provide a displayed image that isrepresentative of the subject vehicle, and optionally with the displayedimage being customized to at least partially correspond to the actualsubject vehicle.

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, a vehicle 10 includes an imaging system or vision system 12that includes at least one exterior facing imaging sensor or camera,such as a rearward facing imaging sensor or camera 14 a (and the systemmay optionally include multiple exterior facing imaging sensors orcameras, such as a forwardly facing camera 14 b at the front (or at thewindshield) of the vehicle, and a sidewardly/rearwardly facing camera 14c, 14 b at respective sides of the vehicle), which captures imagesexterior of the vehicle, with the camera having a lens for focusingimages at or onto an imaging array or imaging plane or imager of thecamera (FIG. 1). The vision system 12 includes a control or electroniccontrol unit (ECU) or processor 18 that is operable to process imagedata captured by the cameras and may provide displayed images at adisplay device 16 for viewing by the driver of the vehicle (althoughshown in FIG. 1 as being part of or incorporated in or at an interiorrearview mirror assembly 20 of the vehicle, the control and/or thedisplay device may be disposed elsewhere at or in the vehicle). The datatransfer or signal communication from the camera to the ECU may compriseany suitable data or communication link, such as a vehicle network busor the like of the equipped vehicle.

The present invention provides a cost effective combined surround viewwith EYEQ3 architecture. Optionally, the vision system of the presentinvention may provide time multiplexed camera control and/or dynamicallyadjustable camera orientation.

FIG. 2 shows a windshield camera unit of a surround view system, wherethe windshield unit has a forward facing imager (FFI) and an EYEQ3 imageprocessor, along with micro controller for vehicle control algorithms(micro1). As also shown in FIG. 2, the surround view system has a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP) andmicrocontroller for vehicle control algorithms.

As shown in FIG. 3, the present invention provides an integrated costeffective combined surround view and EYEQ3 architecture with a FFI (thatmay view through the windshield of the vehicle) and surround viewcameras (disposed at respective front, rear and side portions of thevehicle) connected to a central processing unit that utilize the EYEQ3image processor's object detection and classification capabilities forall of the cameras. This integrated platform could be used for followingapplications that needs simultaneous information fromdifferent/combination of cameras, along with applications that need onlya forward facing imager (FFI), such as, for example, a lane departurewarning (LDW) application, a lane keeping assist (LKA) application, aforward collision warning (FCW) application, a traffic sign recognition(TSR) application, an adaptive cruise control (ACC) application, anintelligent headlamp control (IHC) application and/or a collisionmitigation by brake (CMB) application and/or the like.

FFI (MV) Front (SV) Side (SV) Rear (SV) (machine (surround (surround(surround Feature vision) vision) vision) vision) Blind Spot detection:Prevent x x accidents during lane change maneuvers. Onramp assist:Predict whether car x x x x can accelerate enough to merge with existingtraffic before end of onramp. Low Speed CMB/pedestrians: Wider x x fieldof view to detect pedestrians that are relevant for impact while drivingat very low speeds (1-2 m/s). Low Speed CMB/bicycles: Wider x x field ofview to detect crossing bicycles that are relevant for impact whiledriving at low speeds. Example: Vehicle speed 10 m/s, detecting bicycletraveling 10 m/s at 45 degree angle. Door opening protection: Prevent xx door opening when an obstacle is in collision path. Prevent runningred lights. Alert, x possibly braking. Alert go when traffic lightchange x x to green. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) x x automatic go instop and go ACC (in city). Traffic Jam assist - Lateral and x x x xlongitudinal control in traffic jam and/or lane splitting scenarios (lowspeed, controlled access road). Enhanced Automatic Emergency x x Braking(AEB) based on rear traffic: for example, err on side of not- braking ordelayed braking if rear traffic is present. Better lane detection at lowsun; x x improved availability of lane information e.g. for Lane KeepAssist (LKA) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW). Full autonomous drivingincluding: x x x x autonomous lane change to overtake slower cars;construction area driving; lane merges. Autonomous pull-over maneuver inx x x x case of incapacitated/unresponsive driver. Automatic trailerhookup (guides x car to trailer). Trailer backup (automatically steer xcar based on driver selected trajectory). Automatic parking (parallel, xx x x perpendicular) with driver in control of longitudinal movement.Autonomous/remote controlled x x x x parking (parallel, perpendicular).Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) x extension to height limitation signs.Parking path height detection - x x based on identified need to preventcar from running into low-hanging objects during automatic (remotecontrolled) parking. AEB during backup maneuver. x Traffic SignRecognition (TSR) x to set ACC speed, speed limiter. Child-presencedetection: Warn if x x x child is present in proximity of vehicle, evenif not in path and not moving. Ball detection. x x Pedestrian impactdetection to x x activate active pedpro system (open: use camera toreplace existing sensor or in addition to another impact sensor). Roadfriction estimation (snow, x gravel, ice, . . . ) to adjust AEBthresholds and/or curve speed warning. Pothole depth and speed bump xheight estimation for active suspension control. Read license plate ofpreceding/ x x x following vehicle, e.g. for amber alert notifications.Curb detection/warning if curb is x x x too high to drive onto. Preventdamage to rims. Apply 3D information to parking situations. Perspectivecorrection for more x x x accurate bird's eye view display (morerealistic image). ACC: Don't accelerate while being x x X overtaken.Lighting control: Adjust lighting x x X decision based on knowledge orother car overtaking of driving parallel.

The time multiplexed camera control aspect of the present invention isshown in FIG. 4, which shows the central processing unit architecturewhere the EYEQ3 processor is used as an object detection andclassification platform for all of the vehicle vision system cameras.The EYEQ3 processor may be fed with a FFI video stream to one inputchannel, while the right and left combined video stream is fed to asecond input channel and the front and rear video stream is fed into athird input channel. The system controller or system on a chip or SOC(an FPGA with micro controller core(s) on a single chip) acts as themaster controller of the camera control (gain and exposure). The SOCwill decide on when to give control of the cameras to the EYEQ3processor or chip and when it needs to control the cameras for featuresthat may need to be displayed on the head display unit. The cameracontrol may be time multiplexed with the EYEQ3 processor and algorithmsrunning in the SOC, such as applications that use the head unit todisplay images/video stream and/or that need object detectionsimultaneously from the EYEQ3 processor or chip.

The dynamically adjustable camera orientation aspect of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 5, where the camera mountingposition/orientation (especially for the side cameras) is very importantto get better information on the surrounding area sideward and/orrearward of the vehicle, especially for the applications such asautonomous driving, lane change assist and traffic jam assist, blindspot detection and/or the like. The side cameras may also be used forthe surround view system (360 degree view), which needs the cameras tobe mounted pointing downward so as to capture image data representativeof the ground area sideward of the vehicle.

With the proposed stepper motor controlled (via a microprocessor)dynamic camera mount position/orientation (and thus the external fieldof view of the camera) adjustment mechanism (shown in FIG. 5), thecamera position/orientation may be dynamically adjusted by the centralprocessing unit, depending on the application need (such as a predefinedset of positions and not any random positions, important for the cameracalibration). Although shown as one camera in FIG. 5, one or more or allof the cameras at the front, rear and sides of the vehicle (for thesurround view system) may have a respective stepper motor and mountconfiguration disposed thereat or integrated therein, to provide thedynamic adjustment of each of the surround view cameras.

The stepper motors are operable (via microprocessor control andresponsive to at least one of a user input and a speed input indicativeof the forward speed of travel of the vehicle) to adjust the verticalfield of view of the respective camera or cameras. Thus, when thevehicle is traveling rearward or is traveling forward and at a speedbelow a threshold level, the stepper motors may adjust the sidewardviewing cameras and/or the forward viewing and/or rearward viewingcameras to be directed generally downward so as to have their fields ofview encompass a ground area immediately adjacent the portions of thevehicle at which the cameras are disposed. When the vehicle is travelingforward and at a speed at or above a threshold level, the stepper motorsmay adjust the fields of view of the cameras upward so as to direct thefields of view to encompass an area or region further from the portionsof the vehicle at which the cameras are disposed. The system thus maycapture images for use in a surround vision display when the vehicle istraveling in reverse or at a slow forward speed, and may capture imagesfor use in a collision avoidance system when the vehicle is traveling ata greater speed in a forward direction.

Optionally, the system may include a stepper motor that may be used toadjust the horizontal fields of view of the cameras. Optionally, a pairof stepper motors may be used to adjust the field of view of the cameraor cameras along orthogonal axes (such as horizontal and vertical orsuch as any other generally orthogonal axes), whereby the pair ofstepper motors may be operable to adjust the fields of view of thecameras to encompass a desired region during various operatingconditions of the vehicle (such as during reverse travel and/or duringslow forward travel and/or during faster forward travel of the vehicle).The vision system thus may automatically and dynamically adjust thefields of view of the cameras or imagers responsive to one or moreinputs (such as a user input that is accessible by and actuatable by thedriver of the vehicle and/or such as a speed input indicative of a speedof travel of the vehicle and/or such as a directional input indicativeof a travel direction of the vehicle), such that the cameras captureimage data representative of a desired or appropriate region at or nearor outward from the front, rear and/or side portions of the vehicle,depending on the particular driving condition that the vehicle isundergoing at that time.

For a surround vision system that is typically used by the driver duringlow speed maneuvering, such as when parking the vehicle or backing upthe vehicle, it is desirable that the fields of view of the camerasinclude the ground area immediately adjacent the vehicle. For example,for a side mounted camera (such as at an exterior rearview mirror of thevehicle), when used for surround vision functionality, it is desirablethat the fields of view of the side cameras encompass the ground areaimmediately adjacent the respective side of the vehicle that theexterior mirror mounted camera is located. Likewise, for front and arear mounted cameras, when used for surround vision functionality, it isdesirable that their respective fields of view encompass the ground areaimmediately in front of or behind the equipped vehicle. However, whenthe vehicle is traveling at speeds along a road, such as on a highway orthe like, it is desirable to have the fields of views of such camerasencompass areas or regions away from the ground area immediatelyadjacent the vehicle forward, such as rearward of the vehicle (for arear mounted camera) or forward of the vehicle (for a front mountedcamera) or sideward of the vehicle (for side mounted cameras) to detectvehicles and objects at greater distances from the vehicle andapproaching the vehicle. In such situations, image data captured by thecameras may be processed by an image processor for use in a collisionavoidance system or traffic sign detection system or other driverassistance systems that utilize image data representative of scenesoccurring at greater distances from the current location of the vehicle.

Thus, when not being used for surround vision purposes, it is desirablethat the aim of the respective cameras move from being generallydownwardly to be directed less downwardly and more outwardly away fromthe side/front/rear of the vehicle at which the camera is mounted. Suchan adjustment is achieved via the stepper motor and system of thepresent invention. This adjustment may be done manually by the driver(such as via the driver actuating a user input or toggle that adjuststhe orientation of one or more of the cameras) or may be automaticallyperformed based on or responsive to the likes of the speed of thevehicle being at or greater than a threshold level, such as greater thanabout five miles per hour, or greater than about ten mph or greater thanabout fifteen mph or any other threshold level, depending on theparticular application of the system and cameras. Optionally, the degreeof outward or upward adjustment of the cameras' fields of views mayincrease as the vehicle speed increases. For example, the camera may beadjusted a first amount or pivoted or angled or raised a first angleresponsive to the vehicle reaching a first threshold speed (such as, forexample, about five mph or thereabouts) and then may be adjusted asecond amount or pivoted or angled or raised a second angle responsiveto the vehicle reaching a second threshold speed (such as, for example,about fifteen mph or twenty-five mph or thereabouts). The presentinvention thus may utilize cameras with a wide or lateral field of viewand a narrower or less high field of view, as the vertical range of thefield of view may be adjusted via operation of the vision system andstepper motor system of the present invention.

The camera or sensor may comprise any suitable camera or sensor.Optionally, the camera may comprise a “smart camera” that includes theimaging sensor array and associated circuitry and image processingcircuitry and electrical connectors and the like as part of a cameramodule, such as by utilizing aspects of the vision systems described inInternational Publication Nos. WO 2013/081984 and/or WO 2013/081985,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The system includes an image processor operable to process image datacaptured by the camera or cameras, such as for detecting objects orother vehicles or pedestrians or the like in the field of view of one ormore of the cameras. For example, the image processor may comprise anEYEQ2 or EYEQ3 image processing chip available from Mobileye VisionTechnologies Ltd. of Jerusalem, Israel, and may include object detectionsoftware (such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,855,755;7,720,580 and/or 7,038,577, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties), and may analyze image data to detectvehicles and/or other objects. Responsive to such image processing, andwhen an object or other vehicle is detected, the system may generate analert to the driver of the vehicle and/or may generate an overlay at thedisplayed image to highlight or enhance display of the detected objector vehicle, in order to enhance the driver's awareness of the detectedobject or vehicle or hazardous condition during a driving maneuver ofthe equipped vehicle.

The vehicle may include any type of sensor or sensors, such as imagingsensors or radar sensors or lidar sensors or ladar sensors or ultrasonicsensors or the like. The imaging sensor or camera may capture image datafor image processing and may comprise any suitable camera or sensingdevice, such as, for example, a two dimensional array of a plurality ofphotosensor elements arranged in at least 640 columns and 480 rows (atleast a 640×480 imaging array, such as a megapixel imaging array or thelike), with a respective lens focusing images onto respective portionsof the array. The photosensor array may comprise a plurality ofphotosensor elements arranged in a photosensor array having rows andcolumns. Preferably, the imaging array has at least 300,000 photosensorelements or pixels, more preferably at least 500,000 photosensorelements or pixels and more preferably at least 1 million photosensorelements or pixels. The imaging array may capture color image data, suchas via spectral filtering at the array, such as via an RGB (red, greenand blue) filter or via a red/red complement filter or such as via anRCC (red, clear, clear) filter or the like. The logic and controlcircuit of the imaging sensor may function in any known manner, and theimage processing and algorithmic processing may comprise any suitablemeans for processing the images and/or image data.

For example, the vision system and/or processing and/or camera and/orcircuitry may utilize aspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,005,974;5,760,962; 5,877,897; 5,796,094; 5,949,331; 6,222,447; 6,302,545;6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,523,964; 6,611,202; 6,201,642; 6,690,268;6,717,610; 6,757,109; 6,802,617; 6,806,452; 6,822,563; 6,891,563;6,946,978; 7,859,565; 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 6,636,258; 7,145,519;7,161,616; 7,230,640; 7,248,283; 7,295,229; 7,301,466; 7,592,928;7,881,496; 7,720,580; 7,038,577; 6,882,287; 5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772,and/or International Publication Nos. 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No. 61/905,462, filed Nov. 18, 2013; Ser. No. 61/901,127,filed Nov. 7, 2013; Ser. No. 61/895,610, filed Oct. 25, 2013; Ser. No.61/895,609, filed Oct. 25, 2013; Ser. No. 61/879,837, filed Sep. 19,2013; Ser. No. 61/879,835, filed Sep. 19, 2013; Ser. No. 61/878,877,filed Sep. 17, 2013; Ser. No. 61/875,351, filed Sep. 9, 2013; Ser. No.61/869,195, filed. Aug. 23, 2013; Ser. No. 61/864,835, filed Aug. 12,2013; Ser. No. 61/864,836, filed Aug. 12, 2013; Ser. No. 61/864,837,filed Aug. 12, 2013; Ser. No. 61/864,838, filed Aug. 12, 2013; Ser. No.61/856,843, filed Jul. 22, 2013, Ser. No. 61/845,061, filed Jul. 11,2013; Ser. No. 61/844,630, filed Jul. 10, 2013; Ser. No. 61/844,173,filed Jul. 9, 2013; Ser. No. 61/844,171, filed Jul. 9, 2013; Ser. No.61/842,644, filed Jul. 3, 2013; Ser. No. 61/840,542, filed Jun. 28,2013; Ser. No. 61/838,619, filed Jun. 24, 2013; Ser. No. 61/838,621,filed Jun. 24, 2013; Ser. No. 61/837,955, filed Jun. 21, 2013; Ser. No.61/836,900, filed Jun. 19, 2013; Ser. No. 61/836,380, filed Jun. 18,2013; Ser. No. 61/833,080, filed Jun. 10, 2013; Ser. No. 61/830,375,filed Jun. 3, 2013; Ser. No. 61/830,377, filed Jun. 3, 2013; Ser. No.61/825,752, filed May 21, 2013; Ser. No. 61/825,753, filed May 21, 2013;Ser. No. 61/823,648, filed May 15, 2013; Ser. No. 61/823,644, filed May15, 2013; Ser. No. 61/821,922, filed May 10, 2013; Ser. No. 61/819,835,filed May 6, 2013; Ser. No. 61/819,033, filed May 3, 2013; Ser. No.61/816,956, filed Apr. 29, 2013; Ser. No. 61/815,044, filed Apr. 23,2013; and/or Ser. No. 61/814,533, filed Apr. 22, 2013, which are allhereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The systemmay communicate with other communication systems via any suitable means,such as by utilizing aspects of the systems described in InternationalPublication Nos. WO 2010/144900; WO 2013/043661 and/or WO 2013/081985,and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/202,005, filed Aug. 17, 2011,now U.S. Pat. No. 9,126,525, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

The imaging device and control and image processor and any associatedillumination source, if applicable, may comprise any suitablecomponents, and may utilize aspects of the cameras and vision systemsdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,877,897; 6,498,620; 5,670,935;5,796,094; 6,396,397; 6,806,452; 6,690,268; 7,005,974; 7,937,667;7,123,168; 7,004,606; 6,946,978; 7,038,577; 6,353,392; 6,320,176;6,313,454 and 6,824,281, and/or International Publication Nos. WO2010/099416; WO 2011/028686 and/or WO 2013/016409, and/or U.S. Pat.Publication No. US 2010-0020170, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/534,657, filed Jun. 27, 2012, and published Jan. 3, 2013 as U.S.Publication No. US-2013-0002873, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. The camera or cameras maycomprise any suitable cameras or imaging sensors or camera modules, andmay utilize aspects of the cameras or sensors described in U.S.Publication No. US-2009-0244361 and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/260,400, filed Sep. 26, 2011, now U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,542,451, and/or7,965,336 and/or 7,480,149, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. The imaging array sensor may comprise anysuitable sensor, and may utilize various imaging sensors or imagingarray sensors or cameras or the like, such as a CMOS imaging arraysensor, a CCD sensor or other sensors or the like, such as the typesdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,715,093;5,877,897; 6,922,292; 6,757,109; 6,717,610; 6,590,719; 6,201,642;6,498,620; 5,796,094; 6,097,023; 6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261;6,806,452; 6,396,397; 6,822,563; 6,946,978; 7,339,149; 7,038,577;7,004,606; 7,720,580 and/or 7,965,336, and/or International PublicationNos. WO 2009/036176 and/or WO 2009/046268, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The camera module and circuit chip or board and imaging sensor may beimplemented and operated in connection with various vehicularvision-based systems, and/or may be operable utilizing the principles ofsuch other vehicular systems, such as a vehicle headlamp control system,such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,094; 6,097,023;6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261; 7,004,606; 7,339,149 and/or 7,526,103,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, a rain sensor, such as the types disclosed in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,353,392; 6,313,454; 6,320,176 and/or7,480,149, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, a vehicle vision system, such as a forwardly, sidewardly orrearwardly directed vehicle vision system utilizing principles disclosedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,877,897; 5,949,331;6,222,447; 6,302,545; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,523,964; 6,611,202;6,201,642; 6,690,268; 6,717,610; 6,757,109; 6,802,617; 6,806,452;6,822,563; 6,891,563; 6,946,978 and/or 7,859,565, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a trailer hitchingaid or tow check system, such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.7,005,974, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety, a reverse or sideward imaging system, such as for a lanechange assistance system or lane departure warning system or for a blindspot or object detection system, such as imaging or detection systems ofthe types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,881,496; 7,720,580; 7,038,577;5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser.No. 60/628,709, filed Nov. 17, 2004; Ser. No. 60/614,644, filed Sep. 30,2004; Ser. No. 60/618,686, filed Oct. 14, 2004; Ser. No. 60/638,687,filed Dec. 23, 2004, which are hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties, a video device for internal cabin surveillanceand/or video telephone function, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,760,962; 5,877,897; 6,690,268 and/or 7,370,983, and/or U.S.Publication No. US-2006-0050018, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, a traffic sign recognition system, asystem for determining a distance to a leading or trailing vehicle orobject, such as a system utilizing the principles disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 6,396,397 and/or 7,123,168, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, and/or the like.

Optionally, the circuit board or chip may include circuitry for theimaging array sensor and or other electronic accessories or features,such as by utilizing compass-on-a-chip or EC driver-on-a-chip technologyand aspects such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,255,451 and/or7,480,149; and/or U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008 and/or U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/578,732, filed Oct. 14, 2009, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,487,144, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

Optionally, the vision system may include a display for displayingimages captured by one or more of the imaging sensors for viewing by thedriver of the vehicle while the driver is normally operating thevehicle. Optionally, for example, the vision system may include a videodisplay device disposed at or in the interior rearview mirror assemblyof the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the video mirror displaysystems described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,268 and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/333,337, filed Dec. 21, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.9,264,672, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. The video mirror display may comprise any suitable devicesand systems and optionally may utilize aspects of the compass displaysystems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983; 7,329,013; 7,308,341;7,289,037; 7,249,860; 7,004,593; 4,546,551; 5,699,044; 4,953,305;5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851; 5,708,410; 5,737,226; 5,802,727;5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508; 6,222,460; 6,513,252 and/or 6,642,851,and/or European patent application, published Oct. 11, 2000 underPublication No. EP 0 1043566, and/or U.S. Publication No.US-2006-0061008, which are all hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties. Optionally, the video mirror display screen ordevice may be operable to display images captured by a rearward viewingcamera of the vehicle during a reversing maneuver of the vehicle (suchas responsive to the vehicle gear actuator being placed in a reversegear position or the like) to assist the driver in backing up thevehicle, and optionally may be operable to display the compass headingor directional heading character or icon when the vehicle is notundertaking a reversing maneuver, such as when the vehicle is beingdriven in a forward direction along a road (such as by utilizing aspectsof the display system described in International Publication No. WO2012/051500, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety).

Optionally, the vision system (utilizing the forward facing camera and arearward facing camera and other cameras disposed at the vehicle withexterior fields of view) may be part of or may provide a display of atop-down view or birds-eye view system of the vehicle or a surround viewat the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the vision systemsdescribed in International Publication Nos. WO 2010/099416; WO2011/028686; WO 2012/075250; WO 2013/019795; WO 2012/075250; WO2012/145822; WO 2013/081985; WO 2013/086249 and/or WO 2013/109869,and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/333,337, filed Dec. 21, 2011,now U.S. Pat. No. 9,264,672, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Optionally, a video mirror display may be disposed rearward of andbehind the reflective element assembly and may comprise a display suchas the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240; 6,329,925;7,855,755; 7,626,749; 7,581,859; 7,446,650; 7,370,983; 7,338,177;7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 5,668,663; 5,724,187 and/or6,690,268, and/or in U.S. Publication Nos. US-2006-0061008 and/orUS-2006-0050018, which are all hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties. The display is viewable through the reflectiveelement when the display is activated to display information. Thedisplay element may be any type of display element, such as a vacuumfluorescent (VF) display element, a light emitting diode (LED) displayelement, such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) or an inorganiclight emitting diode, an electroluminescent (EL) display element, aliquid crystal display (LCD) element, a video screen display element orbacklit thin film transistor (TFT) display element or the like, and maybe operable to display various information (as discrete characters,icons or the like, or in a multi-pixel manner) to the driver of thevehicle, such as passenger side inflatable restraint (PSIR) information,tire pressure status, and/or the like. The mirror assembly and/ordisplay may utilize aspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,184,190;7,255,451; 7,446,924 and/or 7,338,177, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. The thicknesses and materialsof the coatings on the substrates of the reflective element may beselected to provide a desired color or tint to the mirror reflectiveelement, such as a blue colored reflector, such as is known in the artand such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,854; 6,420,036 and/or7,274,501, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Optionally, the display or displays and any associated user inputs maybe associated with various accessories or systems, such as, for example,a tire pressure monitoring system or a passenger air bag status or agarage door opening system or a telematics system or any other accessoryor system of the mirror assembly or of the vehicle or of an accessorymodule or console of the vehicle, such as an accessory module or consoleof the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 6,877,888;6,824,281; 6,690,268; 6,672,744; 6,386,742 and/or 6,124,886, and/or U.S.Publication No. US-2006-0050018, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments canbe carried out without departing from the principles of the invention,which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appendedclaims, as interpreted according to the principles of patent lawincluding the doctrine of equivalents.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vehicular vision system comprising: aplurality of cameras comprising a forward viewing camera and multiplecolor cameras; wherein said forward viewing camera is disposed at awindshield of a vehicle equipped with said vehicular vision system, saidforward viewing camera having a field of view through the windshield andat least forward of the vehicle; wherein said multiple color cameras aredisposed at the vehicle, said multiple color cameras comprising (i) afront color camera disposed at a front portion of the vehicle and havinga field of view at least forward of the vehicle, (ii) a driver sidecolor camera disposed at a driver side portion of the vehicle and havinga field of view at least sideward of the vehicle, (iii) a passenger sidecolor camera disposed at a passenger side portion of the vehicle andhaving a field of view at least sideward of the vehicle, and (iv) a rearcolor camera disposed at a rear portion of the vehicle and having afield of view at least rearward of the vehicle; a display devicedisposed in a cabin of the vehicle and operable to display video imagesderived from image data captured by said multiple color cameras; aprocessing unit comprising a first processing chip and a secondprocessing chip; wherein said first processing chip comprises an imageprocessor for machine-vision processing of image data captured by saidplurality of cameras; wherein said first processing chip receives imagedata captured by said forward viewing camera and image data captured bysaid multiple color cameras; wherein said second processing chipreceives vehicle data via a vehicular communication network of theequipped vehicle and receives image data captured by said multiple colorcameras; wherein said first processing chip controls operatingparameters of said forward viewing camera; wherein said first processingchip machine-vision processes image data captured by said forwardviewing camera for object detection and classification of objectspresent in the field of view of said forward viewing camera; whereinsaid first processing chip machine-vision processes image data capturedby said multiple color cameras for object detection and classificationof objects present in the field of view of at least one camera of saidmultiple color cameras; wherein said first processing chip controlsoperating parameters of said multiple color cameras to enhance objectdetection based on machine-vision processing by said first processingchip of image data captured by said multiple color cameras; wherein saidsecond processing chip does not control operating parameters of saidforward viewing camera; wherein said second processing chip controlsoperating parameters of said multiple color cameras when capturing firstframes of image data for display at said display device of video imagesderived from the first frames of image data captured by said multiplecolor cameras; wherein the first frames of image data are captured witha first set of operating parameters; wherein said second processing chipcontrols operating parameters of said multiple color cameras whencapturing second frames of image data for machine-vision processing bysaid first processing chip of the second frames of image data capturedby said multiple color cameras; wherein the second frames of image dataare captured with a second set of operating parameters that is differentthan the first set of operating parameters; wherein said multiple colorcameras are part of a multi-camera surround view system of the equippedvehicle, and wherein the video images derived from the first frames ofimage data captured by said multiple color cameras and displayed at saiddisplay device comprise a bird's eye view of an environment at leastpartially surrounding the equipped vehicle; and wherein, viamachine-vision processing of image data captured by said plurality ofcameras, said vehicular vision system predicts whether the equippedvehicle, when traveling on an onramp, can accelerate enough to mergewith existing traffic before an end of the onramp.
 2. The vehicularvision system of claim 1, wherein the first frames of image dataalternate with the second frames of image data.
 3. The vehicular visionsystem of claim 1, wherein the first set of operating parameters provideenhanced display at said display device of video images derived from thefirst frames of image data captured by said multiple color cameras. 4.The vehicular vision system of claim 1, wherein the second set ofoperating parameters provide enhanced object detection based onprocessing by said first processing chip of the second frames of imagedata captured by said multiple color cameras.
 5. The vehicular visionsystem of claim 1, wherein said first processing chip processes imagedata captured by said forward viewing camera for at least three selectedfrom the group consisting of (i) an adaptive cruise control system ofthe equipped vehicle, (ii) a traffic jam assist system of the equippedvehicle, (iii) an automatic emergency braking system of the equippedvehicle, (iv) a lane keep assist system of the equipped vehicle, (v) alane departure warning system of the equipped vehicle, (vi) a trafficsign recognition system of the equipped vehicle and (vii) a pedestriandetection system of the equipped vehicle.